The 2017 Schweizer Fest, Aug. 9-13, is just around the corner. It’s my favorite week in Tell City and has been since I was a kid.

Mid- to late-summer weeks are a busy time for many of us with vacations, back-to-school preparations and, for many, just completed 4-H fairs. However, Schweizer Fest is the county’s largest festival and nearly all of us take part in it one way or another.

I try to get up extra early at least a couple of days a week, especially during summer. Sadly, summer is already in decline and we’re in the Dog Days, traditionally the period of time from mid-July to mid-August. I already miss the few minutes of sunlight lost since the summer solstice in June. But the days are still plenty long.

I knew becoming a parent would change my life in every way, but, weirdo that I am, I was very curious about how it would change my relationship with movies. I’m not referring to how often would I be able to go to the movies (I’ve been once so far, which is one more time than I expected two months in); I’m referring to my emotional response to movies.

In the United States, an average of 20 people become victims of domestic abuse every minute. This is more than 10 million people annually. One in three women and one in four men in our country have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.

I don’t have children, but I’m around nephews and nieces who, for the most part, are polite and considerate children and young adults. That’s a credit to their parents.

As we all know, civility among children and adults isn’t as universal as it once was. We have road rage, salty language that would leave a pirate red-faced in some cases and people of all ages who lack patience, compassion and general regard for others.

While this summer’s lane closures and orange barrels are a visual reminder that Indiana adopted a landmark road funding bill in the recent legislative session, it’s also worth noting that state lawmakers passed a host of new bills that pave the way for stronger and safer Hoosier kids.

We gave up on the raspberries a couple of years ago, they fruit was so perishable and the plants lacked vigor. We would cut the Royalty raspberries all the way to the ground each year and forgo an early crop to manage disease but it didn’t seem to pay off.

It was never a total loss, but about half the canes would be dried up and diseased by now.